A Hot Dinner and a Loving Wife
by RkieFan
Summary: A post-'A Very Special Piece of Ground' story. After coming home to his wife after nearly being killed in front of her earlier in the afternoon, Mike Danko discovers that she has a very special evening planned out for him. The title comes from something that Jill says to him when he comes home that evening. Rated M for a reason, folks.


**Disclaimers: If I owned 'The Rookies,' my life would be a whole lot more cheerful than it is now.**

**Title: A Hot Dinner and A Loving Wife**

**Summary: After a day in which Mike Danko almost gets himself killed in front of his wife, Jill finds herself waiting for him to get home, letting her ragged emotions get the better of her.**

**A/N: The title comes from something that Jill says to Mike in the Season 1 episode 'A Very Special Piece of Ground.' **

**This is another short story that I've decided to post in-between my longer stories. It's not quite as light or fluffy as my previous short story. However, it was rated M because in my house we wondered just how the rest of the evening went after Mike came home after nearly getting killed in front of Jill in the episode 'A Very Special Piece of Ground,' which is one of my favorite Season 1 episodes. **

**Also, if you listen to the music playing in the background of the scene in the apartment between Mike and Jill, it sounds like 'Windmills of Your Mind' from 'The Thomas Crown Affair.' **

**There will be references made to 'Dirge for Sunday' and 'To Taste of Terror.'**

***MJMJMJ***

It had been a long trying day for Jill Danko. After all, it wasn't every day that you saw your husband almost die in front of you. It was times like this that her mind always went back to the question that she'd started asking herself after Mike had told her about Jared Whitman's death. 'Did she really want to do this? Did she really want to be a cop's wife?'

This was the last in a trio of horrible incidents that had transpired over the past seven months. The incident with Fenner was what had finally convinced her that her place was beside Mike. She could still remember how desperately he'd made love to her when he'd been allowed to return home later that night, hours after he'd been freed from a madman who'd placed a belt filled with C-4 explosives around him. He'd held her like he was never going to let her go. Afterward, while bathing together, he'd finally admitted how terrified he'd been. She'd never seen Mike vulnerable before. She'd never seen him as he was that night, almost in tears as he recounted how he thought he'd never see her again. That was the night she knew that she could never leave him. As the chaplain had said when he'd married them that October day, it was for better or for worse. The incident with Fenner was about as worse as you could possibly get.

Or so she thought. She knew that initially Mike hadn't totally believed her when she'd told him the stories of being followed. It was only after Lee Borden had tried to run them down in the parking garage at the hospital that Mike had finally believed her. And, the relief that she'd felt as he held her in his arms after rescuing her at the Angeles Speedway toughened her resolve that her place was with him.

But, this. She sighed as her mind drifted back to that afternoon.

_She'd been hosting a baby shower for Claudia Wyatt, a friend of hers' and Mike's. Mike and Claudia's husband, Easy, had come home in the middle of the shower. The two men had been partners for the past two weeks, and Mike had come close to idolizing Easy. _

_While the two officers were there, they overheard a neighbor and his wife arguing, following the wife shouting something about a gun. Mike and Easy had run out to see what was going on. The women had ventured out to the balcony to see what was going on. That was when Jill saw more than she ever wanted to see in her life._

_Mike confronted the man, who was wielding a rifle. Trying to establish trust, Mike had holstered his service weapon. But, the man continued pointing his gun at Mike. That was when Easy had stepped in, warning that man that he was going to shoot if he didn't drop his weapon. After the man dropped his gun and Mike slapped cuffs on him, Easy turned to Mike and began berating him. The words that he said to Mike sent chills down her spine. "Danko, a man holding a gun has made a commitment to kill. Never disarm him with words unless you've made a commitment to die."_

_That was when Mike glanced up and his eyes met Jill's. He could see the terror written all over her face as Easy's wife Claudia stood beside her, a calming hand on her arm. She knew that he longed to come upstairs and comfort her, but they had to get the gunman to the precinct._

So, now it was after midnight and she was waiting for him to walk through the door. She knew that he was okay. She also knew that he'd have words of comfort to let her know how much he loved her. How sorry he was for what had almost happened earlier that afternoon. She knew that he'd tell her that it would never happen again. But, in the short time that she'd been back with him, she knew that was a lie. Nothing was ever cut and dried or black and white in a police officer's life.

She looked down at the candlelit table and the bottle of wine that she had chilling in an ice bucket. She remembered her conversation with Claudia from earlier that afternoon.

_After the excitement of the confrontation, the shower had quickly wrapped up; all of the other ladies had gone on their way, leaving Jill and Claudia alone in the apartment. Almost eight months pregnant, Claudia was the veteran officer's wife. She understood the emotions that were swirling through the wife of the young rookie officer. She understood the fear the way that only another cop's wife could. "Are you okay?" She finally asked as Jill's dark eyes met hers._

"_I could've lived without seeing that," she confessed. "What if Charlie had shot him?" She asked, referring to the gunman._

"_But, he didn't, Jill," Claudia reminded her. "Part of this life that's very hard to live with is the constant fear. But, you can't keep filling your mind with 'what-if's.' Easy's a good cop. He's been doing this for almost 20 years. I'm sure that he gave Mike a very tough talking to. Maybe it'll make Mike realize that he can't always play Mr. Nice Guy, especially when you have someone pointing a gun at you."_

"_How do you do it?" Jill asked as she wiped at her eyes, hating that she was crying. She felt like such a damn baby sometimes! "You and Easy have been married for 13 years, but sometimes I think that you still act like newlyweds."_

"_Sometimes I still feel like a newlywed when I'm with him," she smiled. "Even looking like this," she looked down at her pregnant belly. "I always make sure that he knows how much I love him, even when he's working late. When he's working late, I always make sure that he has a hot dinner and a loving wife to come home to. Or vice versa," she grinned at Jill._

So she waited for Mike with the hot dinner, as Claudia had suggested. As for the loving wife part, Jill was always willing. That had never been a problem. She looked over at the clock on the wall, sighing as she wished that Mike would hurry and just walk through that door. She had to know that he was really all right.

***MJMJMJ***

In the locker room at the precinct, word had quickly gotten around about Mike's act of incredible stupidity, as Easy Wyatt had put it after they'd booked Charlie. Terry Webster and Willie Gillis were having an especially good time with it. After all, Mike was fond of reminding them at every opportunity that he was the older and thus wiser man of the three. "So, have you talked to Jill?" Terry asked as the four men got dressed.

"I haven't had a chance," Mike said as he pulled his shoes on. "I figure that I'll wake her up when I get home."

"Don't be surprised if she throws an iron at you," Easy warned as Mike grinned. "I'm serious, Danko. You're lucky that today ended like it did. Because I hate consoling cop's widows at funerals."

Mike sighed, wondering if his new partner was ever going to let it go. He was like a dog with a bone. Yes, he knew that he'd made a horrible mistake. A potentially fatal mistake. He was horrified that Jill had witnessed it. But, Easy didn't know Jill like he did. Mike knew that as long as he promised to never be that stupid again, Jill would move past it. He just wanted to go home, wake her up, hold her and tell her how much he loved her.

***MJMJMJ***

When Mike walked into the apartment at 12:15, he was surprised to find Jill up and waiting for him. He teased her about it until he realized how frightened she truly was and then he felt like an ass. As he held her as she'd asked, he could feel how badly she was shaking.

As he held her, Jill pressed her cheek into the wool of the brown turtleneck that he was wearing, inhaling the scent that was uniquely Mike. After holding her for a long time, he finally let her go and opened the bottle of wine that she'd had chilling. "So, all of this was Claudia's idea?" He smiled as he poured her a glass of wine.

"She was my rock today after . . . well, after what happened," she swallowed down the flood of tears that was building in her throat. She knew that if she started crying, she'd never stop.

"Baby, I'm so sorry," he whispered as he took her hand and squeezed it. "I just thought . . . I mean, we knew Charlie . . . I never thought . . . You know what? Easy was right. I wasn't thinking."

"So, I take it that he was rough on you?" She guessed as she watched him eat.

"Not any rougher than Lt. Ryker was or any rougher than I was on myself. Ryker told me that if I ever did anything that stupid again, he'd kick my ass from one end of the precinct to the other. You're not eating?" He looked at her empty plate.

"I did this for you," she smiled.

"I guess I'm lucky that you love me so much," he grinned as he continued eating. "Otherwise you'd probably be joining Lt. Ryker for my future ass-kicking."

"That isn't funny, Mike," she got up and walked over to the couch, sitting down hard as she crossed her arms over her chest, a clear indication that she was pissed.

He put down his fork and walked over to her, sitting beside her as he looked at her. She was so tough and yet so vulnerable all in the same package. He knew from experience that she could only hold it together for so long before something had to give. He also knew how much she hated it when her vulnerable side showed. She felt that it made her seem weak. "I didn't mean to joke about it, baby," he whispered as she faced him, her eyes bright with tears. "When I looked up and saw you standing on the balcony, I wanted to come up here and just hold you. I'm so sorry that you had to see that."

"I thought that he was going to kill you, Mike," she choked out. "I've been around rifles. I know what they do. If I lost you . . . "

"Hey, you didn't lose me. I don't plan on going anywhere for an extremely long time."

"I told myself that I wasn't going to do this," she wiped her face with her fingers. "I told myself that I wasn't going to get all mushy and start crying like a little girl. I guess I just didn't know how scared I was until you came home and it all came rushing back."

"I can't promise you that it'll never happen again, because I don't know that and I don't want to lie to you. What I can do is promise that I'll try to never again be that stupid."

"If you do, just don't do it in front of me."

"Okay," he reached out and brushed her long hair from her shoulder. Noticing the soft music that had been playing since he'd walked through the door; he stood up and held his hand out to her. "Dance with me, milady."

Her heart never failed to melt when he called her 'milady.' When she'd asked him why he'd called her that when they were first dating, he'd explained it was because she reminded him of a damsel in distress who seemed to need a white knight to sweep in and rescue her. She'd strongly disagreed, but she nevertheless liked the nickname.

She took his hand as he pulled her into his arms. She looped both arms around his neck as they slowly moved to the music that was playing on the hi-fi. All of the emotions of the day were quickly catching up with her, and she was beginning to feel exhaustion creeping in. She pulled slightly away from him, as her arms remained lightly draped around his neck. "Were you scared?" She asked, referring to what had transpired that afternoon.

"I didn't have time to be scared while it was happening. It was only after it was all over and I saw you and those other ladies standing on the balcony . . . I was stupid. It could've gone so badly," he sighed as he continued swaying with her.

She moved her arms from his neck to around his waist as she pressed her face into his neck, marveling at how good he always smelled. "I love you," she kissed his neck as he tightened his arms around her.

As he held her, Mike flashed back to the events of earlier. When her terrified eyes had met his after they'd taken Charlie into custody, he saw the stark terror written in them. Terror he hadn't seen since the early days of their relationship. He'd made a vow long ago that he'd never do anything to contribute to that long ago look of terror. "I promised myself long ago that I'd never do anything to make you afraid. Please forgive me," he pulled away to gaze into her eyes.

As she looked at him she couldn't help but smile. "I bet that you used to get away with murder with those eyes when you were a child."

"Only with my grandmother," he smiled back at her. "At military school, I was taught by a bunch of World War II and Korean War veterans. Nothing got past those guys, not even me with my crazy eyes," he drew her close to him as he whispered something in French in her ear.

"What did you just say?" She asked, giggling at the sensation of his warm breath in her ear.

"I was repeating what my grandmother told me once. She said that someday I was going to drive some girl crazy with my eyes."

"Well, not _just _your eyes," she admitted as she began blushing.

"Oh, really?" He reached down and grabbed her butt as she yelped in surprise. "I don't know how in the hell I managed before you came into my life."

"Ditto, Officer Danko," she cupped his face as she kissed him.

"I'll never do anything as stupid as what I did today ever again," he vowed as he stroked her cheek with his finger.

"Yes, you will," she disagreed. "But, next time do me a favor and don't do it in front of me."

"Okay," he nodded as he pulled her chin closer as he softly kissed her. "Right now, I want to take you to bed, peel your clothes off of your body and make love to you all night long."

"I think I like your idea."

"I have to admit that it's one of the better ones that I've had today," he grinned as she swatted at him.

"Blow out the candles and turn off the stereo. I'll meet you in the bedroom," she kissed his neck just above the collar of his turtleneck.

When he came into the bedroom a few minutes later, Jill had turned back the bed and was sitting against the headboard waiting in anticipation for him. He smiled as he kicked off his shoes and joined her at the head of the bed. "Tonight was wonderful," he brushed her hair from her shoulders. "I wasn't sure what to expect when I came home tonight. I didn't know if you were going to be angry or sad or asleep. It made me feel very special that you waited up for me. It's probably a lot more than what I deserved after what I put you through today."

"You don't have to feel very special, Mike. You _are _special. I waited up for you because I love you. You're my heart," she placed his hand over her heart. "You're always going to be very special to me."

"Jill Danko, have I told you lately how damn crazy I am about you?" He grinned as he tried not to cry.

"Not in the last hour or so," she looked embarrassed as she returned his smile.

"Well, you know what? Fuck telling you. Terry had better be wearing his headphones because I have a feeling that things are going to get very loud," he gave her a lecherous grin as he pulled her toward him so she was lying flat on her back.

He moved over her as he kissed her, his tongue seeking entrance into her mouth as she moaned. He kept her off kilter by varying the intensity of the kiss. One moment he was soft and sweet, while the next he was harsh and demanding. As they kissed, he impatiently pulled her blouse from the waistband of her skirt and unbuttoned it, snaking his hand inside to caress her warm, bare skin. Too soon, he left her mouth, moving on to her neck and that one special spot just under her ear that never failed to make her warm and tingly, not to mention extremely wet. "Mike," she breathed his name as he moved down and reached behind her to unclasp her bra, reaching under the opened garment to caress her breasts, feeling her nipples harden under his seeking fingers.

He helped her to a sitting position as he slipped her blouse and bra off of her shoulders, leaving her naked from the waist up. Laying her back down once again, he moved down her body to tease her breasts with his lip and tongue. She let out a loud groan when he lightly grazed one of her nipples in his teeth, followed by rapidly flicking it with his tongue.

The soft wool of his turtleneck teased her bare skin as he moved back up to kiss her once again. She reached under the sweater and let her fingers lightly trail down his back as she returned his kisses. "Why are you still dressed?" She pulled away to caress his face. "Let me guess. You're not going to let me touch you."

"Why? Do you want to touch me?" He gave her that grin that she could never resist, no matter how angry she was.

"I always want to touch you," she admitted as he kissed her.

"I'll let you undress me in a few minutes," he promised her as he once again began making his way down her body.

After stopping briefly at her breasts, he gradually moved his way further down, planting soft kisses down her stomach as he went. Jill's breath sped up when she felt his fingers in the waistband of her long skirt. He released the catch and the zipper on the side as he slowly pulled the garment down her long legs. He smiled up at her as he watched her. Her eyes were closed, her breath coming in soft pants as she waited for whatever he was going to do next. She whimpered as she felt him hook his fingers into the elastic of her bikini panties as he slowly slid them down her legs. "Mike," she groaned. "Please."

"Please what, baby?" He rested his head on her knee as he stroked her leg.

"Please let me undress you. I need to touch you," she pleaded as he smiled.

Mike thought that maybe slowing things down might not be a bad idea. At the moment he was so hard that he ached. Some relief from his somewhat restrictive clothing would feel wonderful. "Undress me, baby," he whispered in a husky voice as he moved up to gather her into his arms.

She smiled as she sat up, crossing her legs under her. Reaching for the bottom of the sweater, she impatiently tugged it over his head and tossed it to the floor. Biting her lower lip, she gave him a shy smile as she reached for the button on his jeans. "You need to stand up or this could get dangerous," she smiled as he stood up by the side of the bed. She teasingly brushed her hand over his fly as he groaned. She then slowly pulled the zipper down and reached up to pull his jeans down his legs. He stepped out of them as she reached into the waistband of his boxers and took them down his legs, as well.

He closed his eyes and swallowed hard when he felt her wrap her hand around him. After touching him for a few minutes, she sat up on her knees and moved closer to him as she snaked her arms around his waist. "I love you, baby," he whispered as she kissed his neck.

"I love you, too," she whispered as she kissed him as she once again began to slowly stroke him. He felt hard as steel and yet velvety soft all at the same time. The feel of him in her hands never failed to fascinate her. She lightly brushed her thumb over his tip as he loudly groaned into her mouth.

Reaching down, he grasped her hips as he pulled her down on her back onto the bed. Kneeling over her, he removed her hand from his arousal as he once again began slowly making his way down her body, with his lips and tongue. Moving further down her body, Mike stopped at the juncture of her thighs.

Jill found it hard to breathe as she felt him kissing his way up her leg to his intended destination. She remembered how hard she'd fought against this when they'd started their sexual relationship. The very thought of it had scared her. She always worried that Mike would want her to reciprocate. After what she'd been through with Cleve, she'd told him many times that wasn't even an option. He'd assured her over and over that he understood why she wouldn't do it to him.

The night he'd been released after his ordeal with Fenner had changed everything. She knew that she'd screamed from the pleasure of it. He'd made her scream from the extreme pleasure of it many times since, but it still never ceased to shock her when she'd feel his mouth down _there_. How could it feel so wonderful and wrong and sexy all at the same time?

Mike sank to his knees on the floor as he pulled her even closer to him. He kissed her ever so softly on the inside of her thigh as he felt her body try to jerk away from him. His mind also went back to that first time he'd done this. She'd been so shocked and yet so turned on, all at the same time. But, that fear had also been there. Was he going to expect her to take him into her mouth in return for what he was doing to her? He remembered telling her that this wasn't why he was doing it.

Opening her legs still further, he lightly brushed her with his tongue as she cried out. "Yes," he smiled at her sigh as he ministered to her with his lips and tongue, holding her tight as she writhed under his hands. "Michael," she hissed as she felt the explosion building in her body. "Oh my God!" She felt herself shatter around him as she felt him moving up her body and entering her with a thrust that left her breathless.

Having just come down from one incredibly satisfying orgasm, she could already feel another one crashing down on her with breakneck speed. "Baby, tell me when," she heard Mike whisper as he slowed down his thrusts to allow her time to catch up with him.

Jill wrapped her legs around his thighs as she matched his thrusts. "Michael, faster!"

Palming her ass in his hands, Mike listened to her frantic cries as he felt his own orgasm approaching. She screamed out in ecstasy as he felt her muscles tighten around him, which sped up his own climax. He shouted out her name as he emptied himself inside of her.

Jill stroked his sweat-soaked back as he collapsed on her shoulder, trying to catch his breath. After a few minutes, he raised himself up, smiling into her eyes as he brushed her hair off of her shoulders. "We should definitely do the midnight supper thing more often," he said between pants as she smiled up at him before drawing him closer for a long, tender kiss.

"How about if you wake me up early for breakfast?" She suggested with a raised eyebrow as he grinned.

"Wake you up how?" He asked as he bent down to kiss her neck.

"You're a smart guy. You'll figure it out," she groaned as the tingles once again started in her body. It was going to be a long, delicious night. She couldn't wait to feel what he was going to do to her body next.

**A/N: I've been trying to tone my usual more graphic style down to accommodate 's policies. Things have changed considerably since I first started posting more than 10 years ago. Back then, the ratings were the same as what you'd see at the movies. I'm still trying to adjust to the different ratings. But, I hope that everybody enjoys the story. Please read and review. **


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